God’s Light in Our Darkness - “Being ‘saved’ doesn’t save us from facing sickness and sword, including depression. However, God does promise to give us the proper footing as we walk through hard terrain.”

How Should We Respond? - Justin Taylor suggests an appropriate response to the new reports that a fragment from the gospel of Mark dates to the first century.

This Will Revolutionize Education - “Many technologies have promised to revolutionize education, but so far none has. With that in mind, what could revolutionize education?” This is quite an enjoyable video.

The Oldest Gospel Fragment - “A text found on papyrus used on a mummy mask may be the oldest copy of a gospel known to exist—a fragment of the Gospel of Mark that was written during the first century, before the year AD 90.”

What Did Jesus Mean? - What did Jesus mean when he said we would do greater work than he would do? Here’s R.C. Sproul’s explanation.

We are not primarily called to do something or go somewhere; we are called to Someone. —Os Guinness

A Story About a Bird - I enjoyed Elisha’s account of someone simply taking the time to encourage her.

Developing Godly Qualities in Children - Randy Alcorn: “Teaching our children the truth is absolutely necessary, but it is not sufficient. The solid foundation for a life is not just hearing the words of God, but doing them.”

Euthanizing God? - This is an important article that deals with the growing likelihood that euthanasia will soon be considered a legitimate option in Canada and beyond.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss shares some reflections on Ministering in a Maximum-Security Women’s Prison. “We conducted an impromptu two-day conference that included many hours of studying God’s Word together, group interaction, worship, prayer, and testimonies, as well as one-on-one ministry with numerous women.”

Yes, even pastors sometimes get Hate Mail. Here are tips on what to do about it.

Lecrae, John Piper, & John Ensor - Here’s an interesting conversation with Lecrae, John Piper, and John Ensor on the story behind Good, Bad, Ugly, the remorse of abortion, and the healing of the gospel of Christ.

Cripping Up - Very interesting: “Eddie Redmayne, who won a Golden Globe for playing Stephen Hawking, is the latest in a long line of non-disabled actors to portray disabled characters.”

9 Things You Should Know about Boko Haram - “While the world’s attention has been focused on terrorist attacks by radical Islamist groups in Europe, Iraq, and Syria, another series of attacks in Africa has largely gone unnoticed. Here are nine things you should know about Boko Haram…”

The Christian’s life should put his minister’s sermon in print. —William Gurnall

My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward - This article (language warning) describes just some of the difficulties of dealing with serious mental illness. It is sad, but also very revealing.

Books on Sale - Westminster Books has some new, noteworthy, and slightly off-the-beaten-path titles on sale this week.

Lonely Jack Nicholson - This article deals with adult topics, but also real-world topics. Jack Nicholson, who was a notorious womanizer, reaches his senior years and finds himself all alone. It’s like something out of Ecclesiastes.

Home for the Holidays - TGC: “In the aftermath of the holidays, we offer this two-part article as a window into how to respond to family strife in a godly manner. The author, Dan Doriani, is also working on a book on the topic.”

R.C. Sproul on Mark - Logos users will want to grab R.C. Sproul’s commentary on Mark while it is free.

When the Sin of Sloth Sneaks Up on You - “One day I woke up and realized that I was stressed out about the chaotic state of my life. There was no relaxation, EVER. But, it wasn’t because I never sat around. It was because I was sitting around too much. I was avoiding what I didn’t want to do, and it was making me miserable.”

About Tim Challies

I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario, and am a co-founder of Cruciform Press.